The Wrong Question
by ArtemisNakajima
Summary: While the end of the Guild meant that Yokohama was safe, if meant nothing but neverending boredom for the Agency’s Edogawa Ranpo. Thankfully, he was eventually assigned a serial abduction case. Unfortunately, no one thought to brief him on who he was partnering with...


Ranpo rested his head against the arm of the couch, glancing out the small window to the street. He let out a deep sigh, closing his eyes and trying to think of something to distract himself, but there just... didn't seem to be anything. Ever since the Guild had been more-or-less defeated a few weeks prior, the Agency's workload had been meek and boring. Besides, murder cases barely took a moment for Ranpo to solve. His ability, Ultra Deduction, ensured this. However, Ranpo still tried; in vain, or so it would seem.

"OOO! A call!" shouted Dazai, excited. After the last unsuccessful suicide attempt, the man had thankfully decided that he would wait until he finally found someone worthy to commit double suicide with, and that removed a bit of the stress from the Agency's shoulders. At least, for the time being. The man had the unfortunate habit of frequently returning to his old habits, and Ranpo hated this of him. Plus, then there was the fact that Ranpo seriously doubted that he wanted to die. Seriously; the man had attempted hundreds of times, and yet, he had never succeeded. Moreover, Ranpo consistently wondered how the man could seem so happy and carefree with such a sad, lonely and depressing soul. It hurt to think about.

"Really?" shouted Naomi, dragging her not-so-thrilled brother over to Dazai's computer and squealing. She jumped up and down, ecstatic to finally have something to do. He brother just looked uncomfortable, his arm trapped in Naomi's grasp, and he stayed silent, per the usual. Ranpo wasn't particularly fond of the siblings. Although he constantly wondered if they were actually blood related siblings (it didn't seem so strange in his eyes if they were siblings by marriage), Naomi referred to him as her 'flesh and blood', which always bothered Ranpo. However, he had known them for years, so he didn't question it so much anymore. What he didn't understand he usually tried to figure out, but he believed this was one of those things best left alone.

Hearing Dazai's chirpy voice, Ranpo opened his eyes slowly and tilted his ears towards Dazai's voice, intent on eavesdropping on the conversation. He hadn't anything better to do, and anyways; what was said over that phone wasn't exactly classified. Hearing nothing of personal interest, Ranpo groaned and turned over, sure that if someone was calling the Agency, it would likely be for a sort of emergency that Atsushi or Kunikida would take on. Not that it mattered; Ranpo had recently decided that he would stay off dangerous cases.

Suddenly, Ranpo felt a tap on his back. Turning over and glaring at Dazai, who was looming gleefully over him, Ranpo couldn't help the shiver that ran up his spine.

"Ran-po-kuuuu-""

"What," he said, squinting up at Dazai and adjusting his hat innocuously. He sat up, glaring at the excited man.

"I was sleeping," Ranpo lied, rubbing his eyes and trying desperately not to roll them at the face Dazai was making. He instead looked away, watching Dazai's face morph comically out of the corner or his eye.

"You have a job." Ranpo couldn't help at the way his ears perked up at that. He could feel his whole body charge up at the word, and he tried to contain his excitement. However, the feeling deflated quickly, and Ranpo was left with a dissatisfied feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"Its another stupid murder case, isn't it? The spouse did it. Now can I please get some more sleep?" Ranpo turned over, feigning nonchalance. Throwing the edge of his brown poncho over his head and closing his eyes tightly, Ranpo tried to block out what Dazai was saying, but it was getting more difficult by the second.

"It's not a murder case. It something more... challenging," Dazai mused, and Ranpo could hear the chair squeak as he leaned back. Ranpo sat up once more, frowning confusedly.

"Then what could it--" Ranpo stopped suddenly. A thought had entered his head, but he was afraid to voice it have it turn out false. Plus; what was the likelihood of something so suited to Ranpo's expertise showing up right at the perfect time?

"No..." Ranpo started in disbelief, watching a devilish grin fill Dazai's face. Ranpo tried to keep the excited grin threatening to cover his face locked away, but it was a losing battle. Dazai smirked.

"A strange missing person's report was filed around three hours ago, in which 11 of Yokohama's best detectives went missing over a period of four days. There are no leads, except that all of them had a variant of a certain letter somewhere in their residence, all of them opened and read. They all listed one location, but unfortunately, only a detective has the ability to make it through the building. The police have tried, but to no avail. They want you to go in and get these people out. How does that sound?" Ranpo grinned happily, his heart making a happy little dance in his chest.

"That sounds great." Ranpo said in monotone, leaning against the side of the couch and cracking his back. Yawning surreptitiously, Ranpo then stood, his poncho flowing back around his shoulders as he placed his hands on his hips. Dazai cackled lightly under his breath, putting a hand on Ranpo's shoulder and smiling brightly.

"You lucky son of a bitch," Dazai whispered, winking at him. While his words were nothing short of envious, the look in his eyes and the grip he had on Ranpo's shoulders said something completely different. His grip on his shoulder said 'don't mess up', but the look in his eyes was quite different.

The look in his eyes was stony, harsh; like there was something that Ranpo had done that Dazai didn't like. However, the moment quickly passed and the strange look with it.

Shaking his head, Ranpo frowned at the ground momentarily. He tried not to work himself up over it, but there was something about that look that bothered Ranpo more than it should have. He just… couldn't put his finger on it.

"Oh, and I forgot to mention; each detective has a number, and the detectives can only go in in order. The letters all had lists on them, and the list numbers you as number thirteen." Ranpo frowned.

"Then number twelve is missing," he reasoned, tapping his chin with his index finger before crossing his arms. Dazai cringed, stepping in front of the doorway.

"Not... exactly," Dazai said, sneaking a peek over his shoulder and grinning lightly. Ranpo's stomach began to twist. He really didn't like where this was going.

Grabbing Dazai's shoulder, Ranpo pushed him to the side, taking a deep breath.

And froze.

"H-hi..." a young, brown haired man said shyly, glancing up at Ranpo from below his long lashes. He attempted a smile, but when he saw no such intent in Ranpo's features, it slipped away in an instant.

"Dazai, what did you do." Ranpo said, posing the question as a statement. He glared at the man, who merely stood at the side of the room taking in the situation with a small smile on his face. However, when he saw the angered 26-year-old glaring at him, Dazai began to laugh.

"I'm number twelve," E. A. Poe interrupted, blushing uncomfortably and glancing up at Ranpo. Ranpo's eyes widened, and realization dawned on his features.

"Oh," he said, his eyes widening, and Poe got a look at Ranpo's stunning green eyes. Ranpo saw him jolt, and when he looked back up at the man, he saw him staring intently into his bright eyes.

"Ranpo..." said Dazai, obviously confused about Ranpo's sudden silence. Ranpo, realizing he was still staring at Poe, looked away and felt a blush seep onto his cheeks.

"Yes?" Ranpo tried to keep the embarrassment out of his voice, glancing back over at Poe surreptitiously. The man's cheeks were red, and his hair was covering his averted eyes. Feeling a little better that he wasn't the only one uncomfortable, he attempted to focus fully on Dazai for the next few moments, but Poe kept entering his mind.

What had caused him to stare like that?

Why did he stare back?

And, most importantly...

Why did his heart skip every time he saw Poe?

A/N: Hey guys, Viktor here! I figured I'd save my Author's Note for the end, because WHY NOT?! Anyways, I hope you guys like the first chapter of this story. I totally binge-watched the entire first season of Bungo Stray Dogs in one day because *points at myself* Major Otaku here! Anyways, I've finished the whole series and am totally in love with it, so expect more BSD content from me!

In case you guys are wondering because it's been like two WHOLE MONTHS since I updated, I'd been at a SERIOUS writer's block until about 4 hours ago. I was going to go straight into writing my Yuri fics, but first of all, nothing about me is straight . Second of all, I just couldn't seem to get back into the flow of my old fics, and I promise to finish them, but I really needed a change of scene. Anyways, thanks for sticking with me, and I should get another chapter of this up by tomorrow!

C U NEXT TIME! -Viktor

P.S. I'm going to give you this quote:

"There are some mysteries even the greatest detective cannot hope to solve."


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